Pneumatic support for vehicle bodies



Nov. 13 1923.

PNEUMATIC SUPPORT FOR VEHICLE BODIES Filed March 8,1925 2 sheets-sheet 2UNITE SS JOHN MCKINLEY AKERS AND WALTER CARL AKERS, MATEWAN, WESTVIRGINIA, ASSIGNORS 0F ONE-THIRD TO L. T. COMPTON, OF MATEWAN, WESTVIRGINIA.

PNEUMATIC SUIPORT FOR VEHICLE BODIES.

Application ined march s, 1923. serial No.' 623,791.v

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN M. Axnns and lVAL'rER C. Anims, citizens ofthe United States, residin at Matewan, in the county of Mingo and gtateof West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPneumaticrSupports for Vehicle Bodies; and we do declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as willenable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

Our invention has for one object to provide a simple yet an ecientpneumatic sup port for vehicle bodies, novel provision being madewhereby both depressions and projections in the roadway will beprevented from seriously jarring the body.

In carrying out the above end, pistons are movably mounted in a cylinderand their movement is controlled by check valved pressure inlets andoutlets, a further aim being to provide a novel arrangement ouf parts,permitting the pressure to carry with it a quantity of oil vapor, as itpasses to the cylinder, thus effectively lubricating the pistons.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subjectmatter hereinafter described and claimed, the description beingsupplemented by the accompanying drawings.

Figures l and 2 are diagrammatic s ectional views, partly in elevation,showing the manner in which the device operates when the vehicle wheelsstrike a depression or a projection, respectively.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the cushioning devices.

In the drawings above briefly described, the numeral 1 designates anelongated cylinder having a head 2 at one end and proi vided with acentrally'apertured closure 3 at its opposite end. A floating piston 4is slidable in the portion of the cylinder adjacent the head 2 and haslimited inward movement away' from said head, from which it is normallyspaced as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. To so limit the inward movement of thepiston 4, we preferably enlarge one end of the cylinder as indicated at5, forming an internal shoulder 6 at the junction of its two diameters,said piston having an enlarged head 7 sliding within the cylinderenlargement and adapted to strike the shoulder 6 to limit the inwardmovement of said piston. At times, the piston 4 moves toward thecylinder head 2, in which instance atmospheric air is admitted into theportion of the cylinder between its normal and enlarged diameters, acheck valved air inlet 8 being provided for this purpose. The air whichenters through the'passage 8 may escape slowly through a bleed port 9which, in the construction disclosed, is in the wall of said passage.

A pipe 10 having an outwardly closing check valve 11 leads to thecylinder 1, adjacent its head 2 and in the construction shown, this pipeextends from an oil containing casing 12 at the exterior of saidcylinder. A pressure Supply pipe 13, having a suitable control valve 14leads to the casing 12 and receives air pressure or other Huid pressurefrom a supply tank 15 suitably carried by the body of the vehicle or bythe chassis frame thereof, if the vehicle is in the form of anautomobile. In the construction shown, the pipe 13 communicates withanother pressuresupply pipe 16 and the latter` extends from the tank 15,but this exact piping is not absolutelyessential. The pipe 13 dependsinto the oil casing 12 to a point below the oil level, while the inletend of the pipe line 10 is above the oil level.. It will thus be seenthat by filling the casing 12 with lubricating oil to the 'desiredextent, that any pressure passing through the pipe 13 and out of thepipe 10 into the cylinder, must necessarily travel through the oil, thuscausing it to pick up a quantity of oil vapor and conduct it to saidcylinder, for the purpose of lubricating the piston4. i

Slidable within the cylinder 1, between the closure 3 and the piston 4,is a second piston 17 having an operating rod 18 extending through saidclosure and adapted for connection-with the axle of the vehicle in anydesired manner. In the present disclosure of our invention, we havepivoted the lower end of the -rod 18 to a lever 19 which s connected atone end to the axle`20 and is fulcrumed at its other end to a suitablepart 21 which may well be carried by the body or chasis frame 22, towhich the cylinder 1 is also connected. A pressure supply pipe 23 entersthe cylinder between the two pistons 4 and 17 and is provided with anoutwardly closing check valve 23, said pipe 23 leading from an oilcontaining casing 24 into which the pipe 16 extends, said casing havingthe same function as the casing 12 above described. A pressure outletpipe 25 having an outwardly opening check valve 26 leads from thecylinder 1 to the pipe 16 and is normally closed by the piston 17, andanother pressure outlet pipe 27 having an outwardly opening check valve28, leads from the enlarged portion 5 of the cylinder l1 to the pipe 13,in the present disclosure. These pipes 25 and 27 however might otherwisebe connected with the pressure tank 15, if desired.

By the construction shown, when a wheel of the vehicle comes over adepression in the. roadway, pressure 'from the tank 15 enters thecylinder between the two pistons 4 and 17, 'forcing the latterdownwardly, although the piston 4 does not rthen move upwardly under theinfluence of this'pressure, due to the enlarged area of its upper endand the pressure supplied between said end and the cylinder head 2.`When the axle again moves upwardly, the pressure is forced from thecylinder through the valved outlet pipe 25 and returns to the tank 15,and it will be seen that this operation will raise the piston 4 to someextent, during which movement, atmospheric air will enter through thecheck valved passage 8. Attention may be directed to the fact that assoon as the piston 17 closes the outlet pipe 25, a quantity ofcompressed air is trapped between the two pistons, so that piston 17cannot strike the piston 4. This trapped air may gradually leak out, forinstance through some o' the joints 29 in the piston rings 30, which areused on the piston. At the same time, the air which enters under thepiston head 7 when the latter moves upwardly, leaks slowly out of thebleed port 9 and the piston 4 returns to its normal position, permittingit to gradually come into contact with the piston 17.

We will now assume that the wheels encounter a projection in the roadwayand that the aXle 20 rises as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2.Under this occurrence, both pistons 17 and 4 move bodily upward as asingle unit and the air within the upper end of the cylinder is forcedout of the pressure outlet pipe 27, effectively absorbing the shock. Ifthis shock is extremely severe and the piston 4 moves upwardly beyondthe pipe 27, the head of said piston is-prevented from striking thecylinder head 2, by the air cushion which is formed in the cylinder assoon as the piston cuts olf the outlet ot air through said pipe 27.While the piston 17 may now return quickly to its Y to enter thecylinder. this pressure willv carry with it a quantity of oil vapor toeffectively lubricate the internal working parts.

As excellent results are obtainable from the details disclosed, thesedetails may be followedl it desired. However, it is tosy be understoodthat the present disclosure is for illustrative purposes only and thatwithin the scope of the invention as claimed, numerous changes may bemade.

We claim: Y

1. A cushioning device comprising a cylinder, a pair of relativelymovable pistons in said cylinder movable one by means of the other, andcheckvalved pressure inlets and outlets for said cylinder to control themovement of said pistons.

2. A cushioning device comprising a cyl.- inder, a ioating pistontherein, movable toward and from the cylinder head, means for limitingvthe inward movement of said oating piston away from the cylinder head, la check valved pressure inlet passage for the cylinder between itsnormal' inward position and the cylinder head, a pressure tank fromwhich said: pressure inlet passage leads, and a check valved pressureout'- let passage leading from the cylinder at a point adjacent saidinlet passage and discharging into said tank; a second` piston in thecylinder between said floating piston and the other end of the cylinder,said second'piston having an operating member eX- tending to theexterior ofv the cylinder, a check valved pressure inletpassage fromsaid tank into the cylinder between` the two pistons, and a check valvedpressurefoutlet passage from, the cylinder normally covered by saidsecond piston and dischargingfinto said tank, saidsecond namedpiston'being movable inwardly into contact withl said floating piston tooperate the latter.

3. A structure as specified in claim 2; said cylinder beingl enlargedadjacent its head and having a check Vvalved atmospheric air inlet and ableed port at the junction of esv its two diameters, said floatingpiston having an enlarged head in the cylinder enlargement; saidenlarged piston head and the shoulder formed by the cylinderenlargement, forming said means for limiting the inward movement of saidBoating piston.

4. A structure as specified in claim 1; each of said pressure inletsincluding a container for lubricating oil through whichthe pressurepasses whereby to carry oil vapor to level, and a pressure passageleading to the cylinder. said member from said casing at a point 5. Thecombination with a containing above the oil level. 10 member for apressure operated part; of an In testimony whereof we have hereunto 5oil containing easing at the exterior of said afxed our signatures.

member, a pressure supply pipe entering JOHN MCKINLEY AKERS. said easingand extending' below the oil WALTER CARL AKERS.

